In life, there's no such thing as a perfect standard.

At the Norwegian Institute of Weights and Measures, the prototype kilogram is kept under lock and key, with lab technician Marie one of its keepers. The precision and rigour she applies to her professional pursuits also ripples through her post-divorce personal dealings, until an unexpected business trip – and equally unforeseen liaison with a fellow scientist – opens her eyes to a less meticulous way of living.

Buoyed by his trademark deadpan humour and wry observation, writer/director Bent Hamer (O'Horten, MIFF 2008; Kitchen Stories, MIFF 2004) crafts a film as restrained – and as slowly illuminating – as his protagonist.

Norway's submission for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 87th Academy Awards, 1001 Grams is delightfully quirky and gently affecting as it ponders how much a life really weighs, and whether it is possible to truly measure happiness.